Whenever I come across a recipe that sounds good, I almost always end up modifying it to make it healthier, tastier, or to fit the ingredients I have on hand. A recipe for me, is merely an idea and starting point, and then I create dishes with ingredients I have on hand, or that we prefer. I started this blog to share my ideas, and I have a book published with the same title at Lulu.com. Please join in and share your thoughts and ideas, too!

This blog is not intended as a substitute for the health or diet advice of physicians or dietitians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his or her health.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

This would be delicious baked in a pie plate with a flakey crust. We decided to forgo the starch, and I cooked it in a deep casserole dish. If you follow my travel blog, we cooked this in the oven of our suite at the Shoreline Inn. Hence, the paper plate.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away in the United States, some of us may soon have some turkey leftovers. This easy casserole is delicious!

Click on photo to enlarge

Ingredients - for 3 generous servings

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

½ onion, chopped

1½ cups cauliflower, chopped or pulsed in chopper

½ cup celery, chopped - You cannot see celery in my photos, because I did not think of adding celery to this dish until it was too late. I have definitely added it to my recipe for next time. It will add color, and the flavor should compliment the other ingredients perfectly.

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning - I have a homemade seasoning I use, which contains garlic powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Let me know if you would like me to share the recipe!

Monday, October 16, 2017

I had never heard of jackfruit until a friend shared some with me. The fruit can be eaten as is or prepared many ways. I presume that is how it got its name, and why it is called the jack of all fruits. My girlfriend brought me canned unripe jackfruit, which many people are substituting for meat or tofu in recipes. From what I have read, the fruit becomes sweeter, and takes on a different taste when it is left to grow to its ripe stage. The color is more yellow in the ripe jackfruit photos I saw.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

This dish came about because I had fresh ingredients on hand that were nearing the end of their shelf life. Feel free to add or substitute whatever vegetables you prefer. I loved this flavor combination!

Ingredients

½ butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes or large chunks

carrots, peeled and cut into smaller pieces than the squash, as it takes longer to cook - I used about an equal amount of each vegetable

½ small onion, cut into chunks

½ to 1 celery stalk, cut into thirds - I had just a little bit of celery that I needed to use, so I threw it in. It complimented the rest of the ingredients perfectly!

1 habanero, cut on half with seeds and top removed

1 garlic clove, unpeeled with the top cut off

1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - I used 2 tablespoons, which seemed like a bit much

1 tablespoon maple syrup

5 to 8 leaves of fresh sage, snipped into pieces - I only used about 4 leaves for this batch, and will definitely use more next time

Thursday, September 21, 2017

I grew a habanero plant in a deck planter this summer which produced many peppers! I searched online for habanero jam recipes, because I had the idea in my mind of serving this with cream cheese and crackers. I started with the recipe I found on AllRecipes, and I made minimal adjustments to the recipe. Following are my results and suggestions.

I made only a small batch of this jam for two reasons: I wanted to make sure it would turn out with the changes I made, and I wanted to make sure we liked it. We liked it so well, I will be making this again next week!

Ingredients

¾ cup cider vinegar

1⅔ cups Truvia - If you want to use sugar, you will need about twice as much. See original recipe with sugar in the AllRecipes link above.

½ to ¾ carrot, shredded - I used more than ½ of a medium size carrot

¼ large red bell pepper, minced

6 or 7 habaneros, minced and seeded - I started with 6 and then added another half while it was on the stove; I think I will just use 6 next time!

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

This cabbage roll recipe can be found on page 116 in my book. You can prepare these with any lean ground meat. I usually use Jennie-O ground turkey when I make them.

I am sharing a few tips, which are not listed with the recipe:

Freeze the cabbage roll for a couple of hours beforehand. The leaves will easily slide off without tearing after the cabbage starts to freeze. The taste and texture is not any different after baking.

I always chop up a few extra cabbage leaves to stir in with the ground meat and rice. This is visible in the photo above, if you click on it to enlarge it. I like veggies, and add extra to recipes whenever I can!

Fresh herbs are more plentiful in Michigan during the summer; I used 3 fresh sage leaves instead of ground sage in this dish.

I always choose canned tomatoes with no more than 3 grams of sugar per serving. Once you start reading labels, it is surprising how many tomato products have a great deal of added sugar.

I stir in a couple of tablespoons of the sauce with the ground meat and rice before I wrap the rolls.

Ingredients for 4 hearty or 6 light servings

1 to 2 garlic cloves, crushed - I used 2 cloves, which I thought was a bit much (1 of my cloves was rather large, though)

1 slice whole-grain bread, torn into pieces - I used ½ slice of my homemade whole-grain sourdough bread, which is sliced rather large

½ cup to 6 oz. nonfat Greek yogurt - a tub of yogurt goes bad before I can use it all, so I purchase yogurt in individual serving size containers, and try to adapt recipes to fit that size. The individual size I used in this recipe was 5.3 oz.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

I read that parsley promotes bone growth, so I have been thinking of ways to use fresh parsley ever since I had bunion surgery. The link to my surgery blog is near the bottom of this page in the sidebar, if you are interested in that. Parsley is also an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A, folate, and iron!

I did not measure as I combined the following ingredients. Use a dollop or an entire package of cheese(s), depending on your needs, and then adjust the add-in flavors to suit the quantity used.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

I learned about the benefits of tumeric when I was recovering from surgery. Working with the many tumeric cocoa recipe ideas I found online, I came up with the following combination, which I love. Along with the "recovery after surgery" benefit, tumeric has many additional health benefits, which you can read about on the WebMD site. If you are interested in the experience of bunion surgery, you can find that information in my surgery blog.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

There are many flourless brownie recipes on the Internet, if you are looking to reduce carbs. This recipe also has a bit less sugar than most recipes I found.

Brownies ready to store

Ingredients

¾ cup walnuts

½ cup Truvia

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt, mashed banana, or combination - I had 1 small banana, which I mashed, and then I added enough yogurt to equal ½ cup.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips - I used Hershey's dark chocolate chips. The sugar content is the same in both flavors, although the dark chocolate chips contain .5 grams more total fat per tablespoon.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Are you looking to add variety to your healthy snack ideas? Here are some delicious flavor combinations with no added fat or added sugar.

Apples, cheese, and peanuts

Some people think peanut butter on apple tastes like a caramel apple. I am not sure I would go that far, although the flavor combination is close, and it is flavorful. Cheese also goes well with apples, and with peanuts or peanut butter.

Below is a photo of my occasional morning snack:

½ large apple

Less than 1 oz. low fat co-jack cheese

About 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter or lightly salted peanuts

½ apple with low fat cheese and natural peanut butter

Be sure to choose healthy products - such as natural peanut butter or lightly salted peanuts, and low fat cheese. Also - the apple portion should be greater than the cheese and peanut portions.

Directions

Thursday, January 19, 2017

This was my first smoothie with avocado in it. The avocado made it creamy without adding any of the avocado flavor. I imagine this may not always hold true, depending on the quantities in the combination. The quantities I used are listed below. There are many health benefits in this one smoothie: antioxidants, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, flavonoids, manganese, and more.

About ¾ of the batch

I often prepare foods based on what I have on hand, and I did not have any unsweetened almond milk or nonfat yogurt in the house, so I decided to give avocado a try. The following combination made 1 serving.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

I threw this tasty and healthy salad together with ingredients I had that needed to be used. I am sharing the dressing recipe and ingredients I used, along with other ingredient suggestions. Let me know what ideas you have, too!

Dressing ingredients

Saturday, January 7, 2017

I am still feeding and using my sourdough starter in the fridge, and this is the second time I have used the batter for this recipe. I am surprised that making English Muffins is so easy, and the method is nearly foolproof!

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Delicious flavor combination! May also be prepared with pre-made or pre-packaged store bought crust or rolls; however, I suggest staying away from those items as they are usually made with refined grains and have a high fat content.

Super flavorful and tender!

Apple-Sweet Potato Tart Ingredients

Whole-wheat crescent crust - optional*, recipe following and on page 57 in my book

2 small or one large sweet potato, scrubbed and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced - yellow onion would be perfect in this recipe; I only used red onion because I had a peeled one on hand

About the Author

Iris is an avid traveler who writes about her passions in both traveling and eating healthy. She has visited all 50 US states, as well as destinations in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Iris strives to live a healthy lifestyle. Her idea of a healthy diet is one that includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and treats in moderation. She has a published book available at lulu.com that compliments the Eating Healthy blog. The book contains cooking hints, substitutions, recipes, and more.